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Ramon Sessions

Lakers had a four-game winning streak coming into this while the Rockets are fighting for their playoff lives. Also of note? The Rockets won their last meeting against the Lakers. L.A. hoped for a different result but it was more of the same, if anything.

The Good:
This was Metta World Peace’s best offensive game this season. He had 23 points and seemed like one of the few Lakers that had energy the entire game. He was killing the Rockets in the post, had about three nifty left-handed lay-ups, and was even a playmaker at times. Too bad, the effort was wasted.

Matt Barnes didn’t have a great shooting game (1/9 with 3 points) but he did all the other things (13 boards and 4 assists). Keep hustling, Barnes.

I liked that Kobe Bryant didn’t try to have too much of a duel with Chandler Parsons, although I’m sure Parsons irritated him. He scored 28 points and made all 11 of his foul shots. Didn’t do much else but he got his points.

And I did like that the Lakers attacked inside tonight. They had a 36-22 advantage in freethrows and, overall, they scored 56 points in the paint. It probably would’ve been more if a certain center didn’t get ejected earlier tonight. Again.

The Bad:
Another double-digit lead lost. Ho hum.

Maybe it shows in their heavy schedule but most of the Lakers didn’t have the energy tonight, particularly in the first and the third quarters. And it’s only going to get worse because they have another game tomorrow night. But I digress.

Maybe it was also the injuries. Kobe had a bad shin. Ramon Sessions had a bad left shoulder (he clearly had trouble going left tonight). But the defense was non-existent once again… and the Rockets baited them into playing fast at times. It’s fun to see the Lakers convert on some fastbreaks but transition D is not a strength the Lakers have. The Rockets definitely took advantage of that.

Luis Scola went wild with 25 points against the Lakers tonight. He was money no matter who took on him earlier (whether it’s Gasol or Ron… and I’d like to apologize for calling Gasol a non-factor against the Clippers the other night; I was wrong). Goran Dragic went wherever he pleased on the court; he ended up with 26 points and 11 assists.

So what about Andrew Bynum?

I find Bynum’s personality amusing. This is not one of those times. Not getting the calls he wanted and getting shoved by Samuel Dalembert? Yes. Irritating. I don’t blame him for being angry. But at the same time, he’s gotta keep his composure. His second technical where he got called for taunting wasn’t even directed at Dalembert; it was directed at the bench. In a close game where Bynum was needed, he does this once again (against the Rockets once again, yes). He didn’t have the greatest of games, either; he had turned the ball over 5 times. But he was certainly on his way in terms of making a difference. He had 19 points at that point in the game. Keep your composure. Listen to Ace Of Base or whatever you listen to on Club 17 during timeouts. Calm down.

That may have very well cost them the game. But they still had a chance to win. Of course, if they bothered to guard jumpshooters all game long, they wouldn’t have been in this position. Give the Rockets credit for outhustling the Lakers (even if they were outboarded, 48-35).

Yes, the defense once again. 112 points by the Rockets. The Rockets probably likened this game to a 7-11. They were open all day. And probably got extra smoothies on top of it, too.

And Chandler Parsons (13 points, including a big 3 near the end of the game, and a superb job guarding Kobe)? For a rookie, he’s got grapefruits. Props to him.

The Ugly:
Lakers had 13 bench points. Expected. But I didn’t know what else to put under here.

The Play Of The Game:
I don’t have much to choose from, especially after a Laker loss. But you can take your pick between one of the two Josh McRoberts alley-oop dunks. Those did get the crowd going, at least.

Remember the days when the Staples Center was a security blanket for the Lakers? Me, neither. They’ve lost 4 games at home since the trading deadline after only losing 2 before that.

It doesn’t stop for the Lakers. They have Phoenix tomorrow night on the road, where they got plastered earlier in the season. At the end of the road trip, they play the Spurs for the first time this year (a three-game series with the Spurs in 10 days, really). That’s going to be a real test for the Lakers.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They may not even win against Phoenix AND New Orleans. Maybe Andrew Bynum may actually not get ejected in those games. That’s a step towards maturity.

You can call it a rivalry if you want. But a lot was definitely on the line. Who was going to get a stranglehold on the Pacific Division? The Lakers had won three straight (albeit against weak competition) coming into this game while the Clippers had won six straight, their longest since 1992. Well…

The Good:
Cool beans. Kobe Bryant.

I like the Kobe Bryant of April 2012. Doesn’t try to do too much. He lets the game come to him. He lets the other guys do most of the work. And he only strikes when needed. And, boy, did they need his strike today. His last jumper with Randy Foye draped all over him put them up 4 with 24 seconds left. His line was also efficiency personified. 31-5-6. 13/19 shooting. Only 2 turnovers. That was magnificent. It hit me hard; made me lose my breath.

Andrew Bynum just beat up the Clipper frontline on the offensive end all day. There were times where you can still see him loaf around on defense but I will take his 36 points from 13/20 shooting seven days of the week. It’s like he got the star from Super Mario Brothers; no Clipper could touch him, much less defend him.

Ramon Sessions had a pretty good all-around game, too. He continues to pad the stat sheet with 16 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, and 2 steals. His basket where he tapped on DeAndre Jordan with 47 seconds left was a huge basket as well. Chris Paul had a fantastic game himself but Sessions did his best to keep up. This performance is certainly better than what you’re going to get from previous Laker point guards.

Metta World Peace should also get props for taking on CP3 late when Lakers got caught with a switch on Paul. That little wrinkle prevented the Clippers from doing further damage. MWP also made some key baskets (and that key steal from Paul!) that stopped runs from the Clips. He has come up big this season in terms of making big plays, whether it’s a 3-pointer or a stop.

I also like that they played a relatively clean game on the offensive end. They didn’t get their first turnover until the second quarter and they only ended up with 11.

Big, big win by the Lakers. Clips can have all the highlights that they want but, in the end, it’s about winning. One of the more satisfying Laker victories in this up-and-down season.

The Bad:
Stop switching.

Chris Paul made life hell for the Lakers when he would get the bigs to switch on him. Leaving Paul with either Pau Gasol or Bynum in an island is not the ideal situation for the Lakers. Paul made them pay in those few minutes he got the desired switch. Luckily, Metta recognized it and took on Paul himself down the stretch.

The defense continues to regress for the Lakers. 108 points scored tonight by the Clippers. The Lakers didn’t play intense defense until late in the game. It would’ve been nice if they could force more than 10 turnovers. They certainly couldn’t stop the Clippers in transition. That let the Clippers back into the game. Losing big leads have become a Laker signature as they once again played it down to the wire. Maybe the Lakers should propose to cut the games down to three or even two quarters so that they don’t lose big leads like this.

None of the Lakers got double digits in rebounds (Bynum led the team with 8). The Clippers outrebounded them, 46-44… but killed them on offensive boards, 18-12 (Blake Griffin had 7 offensive boards). Box out, gentlemen. It’s good for your game.

It’s difficult when someone like Caron Butler is making contested shots. But that doesn’t mean you should leave him open also. Butler went off for 28 points (didn’t score in the 4th, though, because Vinny Del Negro chose to sit him out longer than he should… but check out Clipper blogs if you want to break THAT down). Even if he’s making shots, make life difficult for him.

The Ugly:
I didn’t think it was possible for someone to die twice… but Pau Gasol got killed by two Blake Griffin dunks today. The first one was a putback smash in the first quarter and the second one was in the third quarter where Blake just absolutely hammered the manhood out of him. Pau tried his best to play it off like it didn’t bother him but he was really never the same after the second plastering. Gasol was, for the most part, a non-factor with 12 points. Though he had a nice block late in the game (THANKS, JODIAL!).

The Play Of The Game:
I told you. That Kobe shot. I couldn’t even do that on a video game. Well, except maybe if you play AS Kobe in NBA2K12 or NBA Courtside.

Also, Bynum getting the ball under the basket at the end of the 3rd… only for him to back up to the 3-point line and shoot from behind the arc? Hilarious. That would’ve been easily THE play of the game if he made it.

The Lakers are now 2 1/2 games up on the Clippers. It really should be 3 1/2 because they also own the tiebreaker by virtue of winning this game as they win the season series, 2-1. I really do hope they face each other at some point in the playoffs because this game was undoubtedly fun. Right now, I’m going to enjoy this win and not worry about any upcoming drama or games for the next 24 hours. Or few minutes.

If you want to worry about the next Laker game NOW, they’ve got Houston at Staples next. Houston beat them the last time they faced each other. Yeah, the same game where Bynum got ejected and gave high-fives to the people there after the ejection. Now that the Lakers have won four in a row, I’m sure expectations have been tempered once again? Yes? No?

In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy this win. And you should, too. Enjoy it like you just received your very first video game console.

Records:Lakers: 30-18 (3rd in West), Grizzlies: 25-21 (6th in West)Offensive ratings:Lakers: 104.7 (15th in NBA), Grizzlies: 102.8 (21st in NBA)Defensive ratings:Lakers: 101.8 (10th in NBA), Grizzlies: 101.5 (8th in NBA)Projected Starting Lineups:Lakers: Ramon Sessions, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, Andrew BynumGrizzlies: Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc GasolInjuries:Lakers: none; Grizzlies: Darrell Arthur (out)The Lakers Coming In: Euphoric. A team that was already experiencing more success than the eyeball test would have suggested has addressed its most glaring deficiency and now looks not only like a lock for a top-3 playoff seed, but a legitimately nightmare matchup once the playoffs begin. As we’ll see momentarily, the Lakers have played some solid ball all season, but it’s rather quickly become obvious just how hamstrung this squad was by woeful point guard play in the season’s first three months. Thanks to wins in 16 of their last 22 games, including 7 of the last 10, the Lakers have bypassed the Clippers (loser of 10 of 17 since the All-Star break) for the top spot in the Pacific (now leading by 3 games) and tonight’s opponent as well (the resurgent Memphis Grizzlies), who now trail Kobe & Co. by 4 games.

Now, it would be crazy to suggest that Ramon Sessions will maintain the incredible 58%-shooting, 50%-from-3, near-26-PER form we’ve seen in his first five games as a Laker, but what fans are justified in banking on are the skills he’s brought to this team – namely top-shelf foot speed and quickness, along with an ability to pose a multi-dimensional threat coming off of a screen. It’s a bit early to get too deeply analytical about the long term impact of Sessions on these Lakers – extrapolating off this small sample might lead to a slightly premature Hall of Fame induction and the aggressive tempering of expectations is just no fun – so, as we’ve done in recent days, let’s revel in the fact that we’ve now got a lead guard, and enjoy our own irrational, Linsanity-esque ride for as long as it lasts, knowing full well that if the Ramon Sessions we get in the long haul is even 60% of this Ramon Sessions, the coming weeks are going to be a blast.

The Grizzlies Coming In: The Grizzlies, like the Lakers, had been playing some excellent ball of late. Since a 10-point home loss to the Jazz on February 12 dropped them to 14-14, the Grizz have prevailed in 11 of 18 and, until this week, appeared to be cementing their place in the middle of the West’s playoff seedings.

However, while Memphis, now back at full strength following the return of Zach Randolph, is still a safe bet to finish among the conference’s top eight, losses in each of their last three, including a convincing defeat at the hands of Clippers yesterday, has dropped them into the dogfight at the bottom half of the West bracket. Though currently sixth and just a game behind the Clippers and Mavericks for #’s 4 and 5, the Grizzlies are in a virtual tie with the hard-charging Jazz and and a half game up on the Nuggets in the final three playoff spots, with the Rockets and invigorated Suns breathing down their necks.

As can reasonably be said of many teams in similar situations, the Grizzlies simply cannot afford to allow this current slump to extend much further. The Lakers will need to approach this contest with a bit of caution, as evidenced by the absences of Rudy Gay for the entirety of the fourth quarter and Mike Conley for the final 19 minutes against the Clippers, rather than exhausting all of their resources in what likely would have been a futile comeback attempt, the team is likely to see the very best the Grizzlies have to offer.

Keys to the Game: This game is a treasure trove of fascinating matchups. For starters, Ramon Sessions will face the toughest head-to-head matchup of his Laker tenure, when he squares off against a rested Mike Conley. On the wings, each squad’s top perimeter scorer will lock horns with the opponent’s top perimeter defender, as Tony Allen will check Kobe Bryant, while Matt Barnes/MWP attempt to keep Rudy Gay quiet. However, the determining factor in this one is likely to be the battle in the trenches.

While the Grizzlies limited (to some extent) Z-Bo’s minutes following his return from injury, he saw the floor for nearly 38 minutes against the Clippers. With the exception of his 25-minute, 25-point outburst off the bench in his first game back, Randolph’s game has yet to reach its max potential. With that said, he is beginning to look like his old self and is likely not far from a vintage, ground-bound Z-Bo 25-18. It will be vital that Pau Gasol check him aggressively and carry that aggression to the offensive end to make Randolph work on D, preferably out of prime rebounding position.

Meanwhile, the best big man battle in the Western Conference will be waged on the other side of the paint, as Andrew Bynum and Pau’s “little” brother, Marc (one of the only bigs in the NBA capable of matching Drew’s strength) square off. Again, aggression will be the order of the day, as Bynum, in what should be an excellent challenge, will be called on to bring max effort both at the defensive end and on the boards, while controlling his aggression to avoid foul trouble, as he will have to give the Lakers at least 20-12, and no fewer than 35 minutes.

On the heels of a potentially epic Heat-Thunder clash, this ought to be another must-watch. At the end of the day, the Lakers will probably have too much length up front and enough backcourt firepower to prevail, though a blowout would come as something of a surprise.

Where you can watch: 7:30 PM start time on ESPN. Also listen at ESPN Radio 710AM.

On the heels of a brutal come-from-ahead loss in Houston on Tuesday night, the Lakers wrapped up their Texas two-step in Dallas, where the defending champs and administrators of last spring’s postseason humiliation awaited. More tough sledding ahead? Not so much.

The Good: Practically everything. For starters, you know how all season the “Bad” and “Ugly” sections of these reviews have lamented the Lakers’ inability to a) connect from the outside and b) generate any kind of meaningful production off of the bench? Well, on Wednesday night, the Lakers made a phenomenal 50% of their 18 3-point attempts, six of them by bench players. Speaking of which, the Lakers’ bench was outscored by its Mavs’ counterpart by just two points, 38-36, staggering given we’re talking about, y’know, the Lakers’ bench.

In the starting unit, deadly efficiency ruled the day, as Kobe Bryant, operating within the confines of the offense, scored 30 on 11-of-18 from the floor (and 7-of-7 FT), peppering the Mavs from mid-range all night. Meanwhile, Pau Gasol was absolutely masterful. Pau played one of, if not his best game of the season, connecting on 13 of his 16 shots en route to 27 points (to which he added 9 rebounds). Gasol was unstoppable on Wednesday night, not only making 6-of-7 in the paint, but doing significant damage from the outside as well, shooting 8-of-10 from outside the key, including a perfect 7-of-7 from 17-20 feet between the elbow and success on his only 3-point attempt.

Finally, we have Ramon Sessions. Much to the chagrin of the fans of Cleveland, Sessions has sent shockwaves through Lakerland, providing us with a glimpse into a life that heretofore might as well have existed in another galaxy. Not since the days of Nick Van Exel have Laker fans had a young and explosive point guard at the helm. On Wednesday night, Ramon Sessions played the point guard game that this fan base has desperately been waiting for. In 29 minutes, divided into two extended stretches, Ramon was a revelation, connecting on 7 of 8 shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for his 17 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and handing out 9 assists.

Every bit as impressive as his phenomenal stat line was his role in the Lakers’ offense, which only really came to life when he was on the floor. Sessions’ greatest assets are his quickness and speed off the dribble, which he utilized beautifully, starting almost immediately after entering the game with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, knifing into the lane and, with excellent decision-making, setting up open jump shots for teammates for each of his 9 assists, including four in a two-minute span late in the first quarter.

We’ve got a point guard!

The Bad: With the third member of their underperforming trio now spending his evenings trying to reign in Russell Westbrook, the “subpar stat line” onus was on Metta World Peace and Steve Blake. Now, truth be told neither of these guys was a complete disaster against the Mavs – MWP managed 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot in 25 minutes, while Blake, Mike Brown’s starting point guard “for the foreseeable future,” had two pair, assists and steals, in 17 minutes on the floor – but a combined 7 points on 2-of-9 shooting, even with no turnovers, in 42 minutes is, how can I put this gently, kinda stinky.

The Ugly: Thanks to his averages of 23.7 points and 12.3 rebounds over the last 10 games, Andrew Bynum was obviously a focal point in the Mavericks’ defensive game plan. In the game’s opening minute Bynum grabbed a defensive rebound and converted a pretty reverse layup at the other end. However, rather than building on this dominating this contest the way he has so many of late, that play was the last one of consequence from the big man for some time.

Bynum was (understandably) the target of aggressive double and triple teams on every post touch from that point forward, and was unable to deliver the ball to the open man in a timely or effective manner. This strategy proved particularly effective for the Mavs in the first half, as the Lakers’ perimeter players frequently cut baseline after delivering the ball to Bynum down low. This tactic actually simplified the Mavs’ task, as they doubled aggressively off of the cutter, giving ‘Drew fits and preventing the Lakers from ever establishing him as an offensive threat.

However, the ugliness in Bynum’s performance on Wednesday night is not the result of Mavs’ defense pressuring him into an inefficient offensive game (he was 4-of-5 from the field) or sloppy effort passing out of the post (he didn’t turn the ball over once), but in Andrew’s generally lackadaisical effort. Far too often on Wednesday, Bynum was boxed out on both the offensive and defensive glass by smaller player that have no business doing so. Far too often he jogged back on offense, often not setting up inside the 3-point arc until 10+ seconds of the possession were gone. Perhaps the best example of this lackluster effort came in the first quarter, when, attempting to guard Dirk Nowitzki on the perimeter, Bynum not only failed to get into a defensive stance, but barely had a chance to turn around as the Mavs’ (by far) most potent offensive threat blew by him for a layup.

This is by no means a chronic issue and all’s well that ends well, but for a guy whose untimely ejection set the stage for crushing come-from-ahead loss the night before, Andrew Bynum spent far too much time on Wednesday play with little-to-no spark at all.

Play of the Game: With all of that said, Andrew Bynum linked up with fellow big Pau Gasol with about eight minutes left in the game – this time successfully passing out of a double team – firing a cross-court kick-out to the right corner, from which Pau buried a three-point dagger that put the Lakers ahead 90-76.

On its own this play would not be worthy of PoG, but the brazen, villainous confidence of ‘Drew made it truly memorable. In front of the crowd that is more eager than any other to see him fail (he did, after try to break their gelled-up midget 10 months ago), after making the pass to Gasol, Bynum made his way back down the floor with the ball still in the air, three fingers held aloft for all to see.

The trade deadline is gone. For months (heck, for years), us Laker fans knew what we wanted. What we really, really wanted. We wanted a much better PG. The deadline cost the Lakers Derek Fisher. But what the Lakers got back? A young, quick 1 in Ramon Sessions.

THE GOOD
Let’s start with Matt Barnes. He seems to play really well against these Wolves (remember his 23-point effort last year where he didn’t miss a single shot). In this game, he scored 17 points off the bench (6/9 shooting). He made three shots behind the arc, which is three more than what the Lakers usually make per contest. He and that new point guard (who we’ll get to in a bit) were the catalysts of that 19-6 run in the second quarter. After that, the Lakers were seemingly in cruise control; the Wolves never seemed like a threat to win the game. L.A. played well enough (though by no means did they play excellent) to win the contest.

It’s really hard to make out what was extremely good in the still-together core of Kobe Bryant (who’s probably going to play a bunch of Grand Theft Auto or Mortal Kombat for the rest of the season since his BFF is gone from the squad), Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. Gasol, who probably listened to a lot of Boyz II Men before the trade deadline, started out really fast but, in the overall game, wasn’t the most impressive. Neither was Andrew Bynum; he had trouble making shots inside and stopping the Wolves on the opposite end. Kobe didn’t have a high-percentage shooting night, though he was blowing smoke off his fingers every time he put up a shot behind the arc. But they all produced. Kobe Bryant had 28 points (including that baseline J that put the game away) on 9-for-20 shooting. Pau Gasol had 17 and 11 while Bynum had 15 and 14.

As for the debut of Ramon Sessions? He brought some much-needed speed and quickness to this Lakers team. Compared to Derek Fisher, Ramon is Sonic The Hedgehog. He was a sparkplug off the bench today (obviously, it’s his first game so it was best to bring him off the pine) and had a crowd-pleasing one-on-four fastbreak lay-up (okay, he burned everyone). It was quite shocking to see such a play made by one wearing the purple-and-gold. In 19 minutes, Sessions finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Just what the doctor ordered.

Steve Blake started in place of the recently-departed Fisher. He played a quiet but very good floor game to the tune of 6 assists and 0 turnovers.

Led by Matt Barnes, the bench scored 31 points. Yes, I know. I’m as surprised as you are.

This normally doesn’t happen, either. The Lakers never beat anybody behind the arc. But the Lakers made 10 3-pointers compared to the Wolves’ 4. An 18-point advantage in that department is always good.

Also, the Wolves struggled to make shots. They only ended up making 40.2% of their shots. Always a good thing if the Lakers’ opponents don’t shoot well, right?

THE BAD
Those big guys must be difficult to box out or something. The Wolves beat them in the offensive glass, 18-11. Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love combined for 12 offensive rebounds alone.

Andrew Bynum really struggled tonight on both sides as the Wolves threw big bodies at him. The repeated double-teaming got to him. He only shot 4-for-13 but, at least, he perservered and still got big numbers in the end.

The Wolves also scored 48 points inside the paint as they tried to abuse the Lakers inside. The Lakers countered back with 12 blocked shots, yes, but it was a bit of a concern throughout the game. Because Minnesota never seemed to make noise about coming back, we might have seen the quietest 27-15 performance from Kevin Love. Nikola Pekovic also had big numbers at 20 and 12.

The Lakers also had some trouble defending the pick-and-roll. Luke Ridnour had 11 points and 12 assists. These would be more glaring issues if the Lakers were losing or won in a closer game (because, seriously, the scoreboard doesn’t indicate how the Lakers controlled this game).

The Lakers only shot 41.3 percent. I can’t say this was a good thing, either.

Also? No Ricky Rubio. And we all know he’s not returning this season. I’m going to go cry in the corner now.

THE UGLY
Not the most exciting game to watch even if the Lakers controlled the contest nearly the entire game. The first quarter was as exciting as staring at a blank computer screen. The game came alive when Ramon Sessions came in so let’s thank him for that!

Also ugly? Ask the Wolves. They haven’t beaten the Lakers in 19 straight contests.

That video makes me want to go to Germany, sing some David Hasselhoff songs, and get that knee procedure. Even though there’s nothing wrong with my knees other than the fact that I can’t jump over ants.

The Lakers draw Utah in Staples Center on Sunday. L.A. is 19-2 at that comfy stadium. And they have won 5 straight games overall. They could be peaking right now. And with the new Sessions acquisition (and Jordan Hill… and Christian Eyenga…), the Lakers are now a tougher team to go against.

Before I end this, I want to get a few words in about Derek Fisher as well. Most of us have called for Derek Fisher’s head due to his on-court performance in the last few years. But those championship banners don’t hang without Derek Fisher. Yes, we cringe and shout expletives every time he gets burned by an opposing point guard and when he misses one of his now-patented foot-on-the-line shots. But Fisher just has that ability to make the shots under the most pressure. We all remember the shot against Orlando in the Finals that sent the game to OT. In that same contest, he made another big 3 that essentially won them the game. There was also Game 3 in the 2010 NBA Finals when he made a lay-up against three Celtics. We can never forget that post-game interview about how he much loved his team and this game. Not many people talk about this but he made that game-tying three in the fourth quarter in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. The Lakers never relinquished the lead after that moment and went on to win the championship. And, of course, 0.4. That moment is immortal. We will always have that and that’s thanks to Derek Fisher.

For every big shot… it’s hook, line, sinker, Fish. We will all miss you, Derek Fisher. Good luck the rest of the way. This game was for you.